Fashioning mechanism for full fashioned knitting machines



M. ZWICKY Jan. 31, 1933.

FASHIONING MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 4, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR: piezckwrZwz'cigy, BY

Q1 TTbRNEYS.

Jan. 31, 1933. M. ZWICKY 1,895,777

FASHIONING MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 4, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 A7TORNEYS.

Jan. 31, 1933. M. ZWlCKY FASHIONING MECHANISM FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 4, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Q .m o 7 Q Q 1 @Q a f TI;

, INVENTQR: n mk/wrZzwak 3 w S U: :1 BY

l) ATTORNEYS.

Jan. 31, 1933. M zw c FASHIONING MECHANISM-FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed June 4, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. 31, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I HELCHIOB ZWIGKY, OF BERKSHIRE HEIGHTS, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO TEXTILE MACHINE WORKS, OF WYOMISBING, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF SYLVANIA FABHIONING MECHANISM/FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Application med .Tune 4,

y This invention relates to full fashioned knitting machines, and more particularly to the rod stop and transfer point shiftin control mechanisms, my primary object belngto 5 provide improved operation thereof whereby the fabric width may be both narrowed and widened to fashion a single continuously knitted blank that can form a complete stocking by a medial longitudinal folding and sub- 19 se uent seamin together of its side edges.

y improve mechanism and its automatic operation are fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features particularly set forth 1n the 15 ap nded claims. i ig. 1 shows in end view the usual narrowand stop-nut spindles of a fashloned kmtting machine and embodying my mprovements in the operative mechamsm m therefor.

Fig. 2 is a correspondingrear elevation,

showm only the outer end of the spindle and in 'cating the carrier rods in their relation to the sto nut. 25 Fig. 3 is a ont elevation, on a smaller scale, showing a partial length of the full fashioned machine, and indicatin the panrowing rods with their loop tran er po nts. Fig. 4 is an enlarggd fragmentary vlew, corresponding with ig. 3, to more clearly show the narrowing points.

Fig. 5 is a perspective vlew'showmg diagrammatically the pawl disengaging mechanism, and the latch for holding it disengaged at the proper time.

Fig. 6 indicates a stockmg blank.fabr1c that may be producedwith my lmproved operative mechanism.

Fi 7 shows a modified form of blank produce by operation of the carrier rod stop nuts alone. I

The drawings show portions atone end of a full fashioned knitting machine of known construction, and it is to be understood that duplicate parts at the o posite end operate in a s' manner. e traverse of the series of thread guide carrier rods and the rods carrying the 1 transfer pomts are commonly limited an controlled by screw .threaded spindles carrying nuts longltudmal- 1931. Serial No. 542,055.

1y moved by intermittent rotations of said screws, such varied rod traverse and loop points shiftingvdetermining the number of needles supplied with thread and forming loops thereof in the successive courses for 55 the purpose of fashioning the fabric blank in a manner common in the art and well understood. I

Referring to'the drawings 10 indicates a usual spindle carrying the stop nut 11 for the carrier rods 12; and 15 indicates the so called. narrowing spindle, having as heretofore, reversely threaded portions for nuts 16 and 17 to move in reverse directions their respective rods 18 and 19, carrying transfer points The spindles 10'and 15 are intermittently turned in known manner by a suitable cam on main cam shaft 26, which acts only when said shaft is shifted longitudinally, to oscil-" late a lever 27 to which a forked connecting member 28 is pivoted, the spread ends of the latter pivotally engagin' link arms 29 and 30 strungv upon and radiafiy swingableon the projectingstems of-the respective spindles 10 and 15, and said arms carr ing pawls 31 and 32 respectively engaging the ratchet toothed wheels 33 and 34; on said spindles. Each spindle is provided as usual with a notched disc 35 and spring pressed detent 36 to ac- 7 curately position and prevent unintentional turning.

The mechanism above V set forth is well known and its operation t3 fashion the fabric by proper turning of the spindles is ashoretofore and requires no further description; such fashioning however being ordinarily a -narrowing from a maximum starting width to the reduced ankle portion of "the stocking blank. i

To complete the stocking by continuous knitting, without the. heretofore common transfer to another machine, it is necessary to. provide for determined widening of the blank to form suitable heel pockets, and to this end I provide an additional gear 40 on spindle 10 with ratchet teeth reversely directed .to those of gear 33, and a similar gear 41 on' spindle 15, and add pivoted pawls 42 and 43 to the forked connecting member 28, adapted to engage their respective gears 40 and 41. I

The mere reversal of spmdle by action of pawl 42 on its gear effects a gradually increased traverse of the thread guides, and subsequent reduction of such traverse by ac- ,,tion of pawl 31 on gear 33 on said spindle,

4 tions of both spindles 10 and 15in thd special manner which will now be described.

It isto be understood that, as heretofore, each normal racking action of spindles 10 and 15, which takes place only when the main cam shaft is shifted and the knitting action arrested, causes a two needle shift of the rod stops and loop transfer pointsrespectively; that pawl 42 is adapted to reversely rack spindle 10 this same two needle turn, but is disen- 1 gaged intermittently as later herein will appear; and that pawl 43 has an extension 43" adapted to cause said pawl to reversely rack spindle 15 only one needle space turn.

As shown pawl 42 is normally tensioned by spring 45 to engage its gear 40,. but is moved to disen ging position by a lever 46 pivoted at 47 and havmg' an extension 48 lying in the path ofvand operated at each reciprocative movement of an extension 49, commonly known as the plaiting bar extension, of the usual slur cock connecting bar operating. in

known manner the carrier rods 12 A latch device 50 is shown fixedly pivoted at 51, and carrying a pin 52 which is adapted to engage in a notch .53 of an adjustably positioned plate mounted on the stop nut 13, said late edge normally holdingthe-latch elevate except as the nut reaches the end of its outward travel when notch 53 receives pin 52 to lower latch into engagement with a stud 48 on lever extension 48 to retain the latter in position to hold pawl 42 disen aged from its gear 40. A duplicate lever an latch at the opposite end of the machine operate in like manner on the duplicate parts there locatedto hold its corresponding pawl disengaged.

- Pawl 43 is tensioned by spring 55 and locked in idle position by a latch 56 engaging a. pin 57 on said pawl, said latch being shown as conveniently connected'to a pawl 58 not involved in the present improvements.

with the mechanism thus described and pawls 31 and 32 in position to rack their gears 33 and 34 respectively, and pawls 42and 43 locked in disengaged position, a stocking blank of usual leg construction may be produced in known manner to the course at the reduced ankle at which it commonly has been transferred to another machine, the heretofore heel tab extension being omitted. At such course indicated by the line a:m in Fig. 6, the pawls 31 and 32 are disengaged and pawls 42 and 43 unlocked so their springs may act to position them to reversely turn the spindles 10 and 15, and by continuing knitting and operating properly the usual dipping of the narrowing head of the machine, the fabric will be widened as shown. In such widening the loop transfer points 20 will move outward instead of inwardly and will leave an intermediate needle free of a loop instead of doubling the loop on certain needles, making the special fashioning lines a andb asshown.

It is-apparent that if spindle 15 is racked but one tooth, which is all that is desired forappearances, spindle 10 must not be racked two teeth; also that racking such spindle 10 one tooth would not answer as it would merely move the rod stop away from its rod con-' tact without causing the rod 'to follow. To

' overcome this difference in spindle racking the mechanism for disengaging a pawl above described is employed to rack spindle 10 two' teeth as heretofore, but only when the carrier rods are at the opposite extreme of this trav erse. This is accomplished alternately at each end of the machine, as clearly seen in Fig. 5, by extension 49 of the slur-cock ba'r 'sengagmg the pawl 42 provided at the end 0 the machine towards which the carrier rods 10. Also the roundedheel corners c, cmay be formed by suitably placed guards 60 actmg in well known manner to cover end ones of the needles as the carriers increase their travel tovprevent formation of loops thereon.

. With the above operation of single notch rotations of each spindle 15 and alternate two notch rotations of spindles 10, the

widened loop andincreased thread traverse V are equalized, but not in the same course, free end loops being formed at each edge in successive courses as will be readily under With-the mechanism thus fully set fortha stocking blank of pro er fashioned shape may be readily produce on a usual knitting machine at one operation without the-necessity of transfer and of generally similar ag pearance to the usual commercial full fas ioned stocking. It will also be apparent that the above provision for widening does not in any way efiect the usual narrowing operations to fashion the foot and toe portions as well as the leg as heretofore emp My improved mechanism is simple, eifective, and readily applied to known knitting machine construction at little cost, and adapts such machine for economical production of complete stockingblanks.

The particular mechanism shown and described is a preferred embodiment and modifications thereof may be readily developed that are within the spirit of my invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a full fashioned knitting machine having thread-carrier rods, reciprocative mechanism therefor, and spaced adjustably shiftable stops adapted to 7 limit the reciprocative traverse of said rods,

26 of means for intermittently shifting said stops, means controlled by the rod reciprocative mechanism for alternately, preventing shift of each stop, and latch means to revent shift of both steps at a predetermined 3% position.

2. In combination with a full fashioned knitting machine having thread-carrier rods, reci rocative mechanism therefor, spaced rotata lymounted threaded spindles, rod sto 5 nuts carried by said spindles adapted to limlt 4 the reciprocative traverse of said rods, separate pawl and ratchet gear mechanisms for rotating said s indles, means to jointly actuate said paw s, pawl engaging means ac- 40 tuated by the rod reciprocative mechanism to prevent racking of one pawl at each rod reciprocation, latch devices and means carried by the sto nuts to operate said latch devices ,to hol said pawls in disengaged posltions.

3. In a full fashioned lmitting machine, a thread carrier rod, reciprocative mechanism therefor, a pair oflthreaded spindles, a carrier rod stop nut mounted on one spindle, a

narrowing rod nut mounted on the other spindle, an intermittently operated pawling yoke, a spindle racking pawl for each spindle mounted on said yoke, a disengaging lever -for the stop nut spindle pawl, a slidebar actuated by the carrier rod reciprocative mechanism to engage said lever and disengage said pawl at each rod reciprocation, a

latch adapted to hold said pawl in disengaged position, and latch operating mechaw anism carried by said stop nut.- s

In testimony whereof, I afiix m signature.

MELCHIOR Z 'ICKY. 

